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Wittgenstein and the Vienna Circle – The Vienna Circle and Wittgenstein. A Critical Reconsideration

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Wittgenstein and the Vienna Circle

Part of the book series: Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook ((VCIY,volume 28))

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Abstract

Research and publications on Wittgenstein and on the Vienna Circle of Logical Empiricism have been steadily increasing in recent decades. Nevertheless, detailed comparisons between the single famous philosopher and the influential circle around Moritz Schlick are less often undertaken. To be sure, the reception and impact of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus (TLP) on the Vienna Circle is a familiar topic as are the conversations Wittgenstein had with Schlick and Waismann. This introductory essay suggests that a broader focus be adopted. The first part provides an overview of the multi-faceted Vienna Circle based on recent historiography and primary sources; the second part offers a new perspective on the complex relations between Wittgenstein and the Vienna Circle. To this end, a case study of a central relevant document is provided, namely of Rose Rand’s “Development of the Theses of the ‘Vienna Circle’” (1932/33). A close reading of this unique source sheds new light on the central philosophical triangle of Wittgenstein-Schlick-Waismann and opens up new avenues for future analyses. These considerations are offered to provide a thematic frame for the papers contained in this volume documenting the international conference on “Wittgenstein and the Vienna Circle”, held in Vienna, June 2021 to mark the centenary of the publication of Wittgenstein’s Logisch-philosophische Abhandlung (1921) / Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A selection of relevant literature: Mulder 1968, McGuinness 1968 ff., 1985, 1991, 2010, Baker 2003, Janik and Toulmin 1973, Hacker 1997, Haller 1979, 1986, 1993, Nedo/Ranchetti 1983, Haller and McGuinness 1989, Gálvez and Baldrich 1998, Stadler 2015, Sluga and Stern 1996, Stern 2018, Reck 2002, Uebel 2015, Engelmann 2021, Friedl 2002. Wittgenstein Initiative 2018.

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Acknowledgement

Thanks to Thomas Uebel for his valuable stylistic and philosophical inputs.

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Correspondence to Friedrich Stadler .

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Appendix: Rose Rand, Entwicklung der Thesen des “Wiener Kreises”

Appendix: Rose Rand, Entwicklung der Thesen des “Wiener Kreises”

Source: Vienna Circle Archives, Rijksarchief Noord-Holland / Haarlem (NL), Schlick Collection, 189/WK.38a. With kind permission of the Vienna Circle Foundation, Haarlem. A second copy is located at the Archives of Scientific Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh.

A black/white reproduction was published by Iven (2004, 51 ff., 198–221) without interpretation together with Rand’s typoscript “Der Einfluß Wittgensteins auf den Wiener Kreis” (The Influence of Wittgenstein on the Vienna Circle, Version 1972) from the Pittsburgh Archives. This scetchy document deals with the reception without a direct reference to her earlier overview reproduced below. This may be explained by the concrete recommendations of Neurath together with his commission in 1937. 

An image of a paper with text on it. The text is in German and is numbered from 1 to 11. Each numbered text has a table next to it. The columns of the table are labeled: S, W, C, N, H, K, and the rows are labeled: vor tract, tractatus, nach tract.
An image of a paper with text on it. The text is in German and is numbered from 12 to 24. Each numbered text has a table next to it. The columns of the table are labeled: S, W, C, N, H, K, and the rows are labeled: v dot t r, t r, n dot t r.
An image of a paper with text on it. The text is in German and is numbered from 25 to 27. Each numbered text has a table next to it. The columns of the table are labeled: S, W, C, N, H, K, and the rows are labeled: v dot t r, t r, n dot t r.

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Stadler, F. (2023). Wittgenstein and the Vienna Circle – The Vienna Circle and Wittgenstein. A Critical Reconsideration. In: Stadler, F. (eds) Wittgenstein and the Vienna Circle. Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook, vol 28. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07789-0_1

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